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Monday, 24 February 2014

Uganda's Law passes - The Hole in our Recognition of Genocide

The president of Uganda has signed the brutal and truly
evil homophobic bill which strengthens the anti-gay genocide in his country. It
is deeply wounding to see that there are so many people and so many places that
want nothing more than for GBLT people to be completely eradicated from the
planet; we have a long way to go until our very right to exist is universally
accepted.

We need to keep fighting and campaigning, of course,
though I doubt any of the rhetoric will be backed with any kind of action – if Sochi
tells us anything, it’s how little the cishet world really cares about GBLT
bodies – but we keep fighting because it’s all we can do.

Of course, I’ve said “genocide” which usually has someone
bustling in to tell me how very wrong I am to use that word. Do not – this is genocide
beyond any doubt.

So yes, countries that executed people for being gay are
committing genocide.

Countries that flog, torture, starve, electrocute, force
emetics on us, or otherwise brutalise us (and that definitely includes “conversion”
therapy) most certainly fit under B

So are countries that imprison people for being gay – not
even long sentences since you can’t STOP being gay so you are an inherent “repeat
offender”. They are definitely filling C on that list and, frankly, are
fulfilling A in all but loopholes. In fact, life imprisonment for existing is
hitting on B as well

Countries that break up our families and take our
children (including but certainly not limited to that vile new law Russia is proposing)
are definitely going for E. And we’ve got to mention the forced sterilisation
that more than nods at D.

These are just the blatant ones – and my gods there’s a
lot of blatant examples for these alone. But the reality on the ground has a
whole lot more genocide - creating a climate where mere mention of us is a
sinful or obscene – or even a crime? That’s B – that’s driving us to suicide by
any means necessary. If that were applied to political or religious groups
there wouldn’t be the slightest doubt of genocide. Making our existence an
obscenity is trying to erase us from society.

Raising GBLT kids to believe they are sinful, obscene and
sick? That’s driving them to suicide, that’s trying to deny their personhood –
it’s another part of the GBLT genocide that is pursued in every country around
the world.

The legal definition of genocide isn’t ambiguous. It’s
not really controversial either – and it cannot be sensibly argued that the
crusade against GBLT people is not “almost genocide” – it is genocide, outright
genocide. But we never ever use that word – not about Uganda’s evil law, not about the evil laws that
already exist in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Nigeria and so many other nations, not
about the genocide practices and rhetoric happening on our doorsteps every day.

Why, half the time it’s damn hard to get people to admit
that gay people were the victims of genocide during the Holocaust.

Because the cishet world does not see gay genocide.

Look at that law again, the only reason why this does not
fit the legal definition of genocide is simply because the cishet world doesn’t
think killing GBLT people is genocide. That’s it. We are not included Locking
up a group of people for existing, locking them up for life for not magically
vanishing, is genocide.

And you can’t even put this down to anachronism any more –
it is 2014 and there has been no push to recognise GBLT genocide – but then,
maybe I’m asking far too much of straight, cis folks given how long it took to
recognise the pink triangle in the concentration camps.

We need to plug this hole. The UN can make pretty
speeches but the UN doesn’t follow that up with anything resembling reasonable
action – witnessed by this gross void in its most fundamental of laws. This is
the very bare minimum of international human rights protection – protection against
genocide.

But genocide continues against GBLT people not only
unchecked, not only completely sanctioned, but without the cishet world even
recognising it is genocide. Our deaths don’t count. And until the powers that
be can do the bare minimum of recognising that trying to eradicate us is
genocide, then what the hell is the point of them?